Monticello
Monticello was the home of Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States. Jefferson started building Monticello when he was 26 years old. It is located just outside Charlottesville, Virginia. When Jefferson operated it as a plantation, its size was originally 5,000 acres. Jefferson grew tobacco and other mixed crops, and the labor was provided by by slaves.
The main house on the property, which Jefferson designed, was based on Italian Renaissance architecture which he reworked during his presidency. The house is situated on the summit of an 850-foot peak in the Southwest Mountains south of the Rivanna Gap. Its name Monticello comes from the Italian "little mount." The plantation grew to include numerous outbuildings for specialized functions, and quarters for Jefferson's slaves. At Jefferson's direction, he was buried on the grounds, in an area now designated as the Monticello Cemetery
After his wife's death in 1782, Jefferson left Monticello in 1784 to serve as Minister of the United States to France. During his several years' in Europe, he had an opportunity to see some of the classical buildings and to discover trends in French architecture that were then fashionable in Paris. In 1794, following his service as the first Secretary of State, Jefferson began rebuilding his house based on the ideas he had acquired in Europe. The remodeling continued throughout most of his presidency and was completed for the most part by 1809, although Jefferson continued work on the present structure until his death in 1826.
Jefferson added a center hallway and a parallel set of rooms to the structure, more than doubling its area. The interior is centered on two large rooms, which served as an entrance-hall-museum, where Jefferson displayed his scientific interests, and a music-sitting room. The most dramatic element of the new design was an octagonal dome, placed above the west front of the building in place of a second-story portico. The room inside the dome was rarely used because it was too hot in summer and cold in winter. The dome room has now been restored to its appearance during Jefferson's lifetime.
Before his death, Monticello had began to show signs of decay, due in part to his accumulating debts. In the last few years of Jefferson's life, much went without repair in Monticello.
After Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, his only surviving daughter Martha Jefferson Randolph inherited Monticello. The estate was encumbered with debt and Martha Randolph had financial problems of her own because of her husband's mental illness. In 1831 she sold Monticello to James Turner Barclay, a local apothecary. Barclay sold it in 1834 to Uriah P. Levy, the first Jewish Commodore in the United States Navy. Levy greatly admired Jefferson and he used his private funds to repair, restore and preserve the house. During the American Civil War, the house was seized and sold by the Confederate government because it was owned by Levy who was a Northern officer. Uriah Levy's estate recovered the property after the war. In 1879, Uriah Levy's nephew, Jefferson Monroe Levy, a prominent New York lawyer and later member of Congress, took control of the property. He commissioned repairs. In 1923, a private non-profit organization, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, purchased the house from Jefferson Levy and performed additional restoration.
The Foundation operates Monticello and its grounds as a house museum and educational institution. Visitors can view rooms in the cellar and ground floor, but the second and third floors are not open to the public due to fire code restrictions. Visitors can tour the third floor (Dome), while on a Signature Tour.
The original main entrance is through the portico on the east front. The entrance hall contains recreations of items collected by Lewis and Clark on the cross-country expedition commissioned by Jefferson to explore the Louisiana Purchase. Jefferson had the floorcloth painted a "true grass green" upon the recommendation of artist Gilbert Stuart.
The south wing includes Jefferson's private suite of rooms. The library holds many books from his third library collection. His first library was burned in an accidental plantation fire, and he sold his second library in 1815 to the United States Congress to replace the books lost when the British burned the Capitol in 1814.
By the time of Jefferson's death, some slave families had labored and lived for four generations at Monticello. Six families and their descendants are featured in the exhibit, Slavery at Jefferson's Monticello: Paradox of Liberty. In February 2012, Monticello opened a new outdoor exhibit on its grounds: Landscape of Slavery: Mulberry Row at Monticello, to describe the lives of the hundreds of slaves who lived and worked at the plantation. In the fall of 2001, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation held a commemoration of the burial ground, in which the names of known slaves of Monticello were read aloud.
Here is more information about Monticello:
Website: http://www.monticello.org/
Location: 931 Thomas Jefferson Parkway, Charlottesville, Virginia
Monticello’s hours of operation change seasonally, so visitors are advised to check the calendar on the website for information on specific dates.
Twitter: @TJMonticello
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TJMonticello
The main house on the property, which Jefferson designed, was based on Italian Renaissance architecture which he reworked during his presidency. The house is situated on the summit of an 850-foot peak in the Southwest Mountains south of the Rivanna Gap. Its name Monticello comes from the Italian "little mount." The plantation grew to include numerous outbuildings for specialized functions, and quarters for Jefferson's slaves. At Jefferson's direction, he was buried on the grounds, in an area now designated as the Monticello Cemetery
After his wife's death in 1782, Jefferson left Monticello in 1784 to serve as Minister of the United States to France. During his several years' in Europe, he had an opportunity to see some of the classical buildings and to discover trends in French architecture that were then fashionable in Paris. In 1794, following his service as the first Secretary of State, Jefferson began rebuilding his house based on the ideas he had acquired in Europe. The remodeling continued throughout most of his presidency and was completed for the most part by 1809, although Jefferson continued work on the present structure until his death in 1826.
Jefferson added a center hallway and a parallel set of rooms to the structure, more than doubling its area. The interior is centered on two large rooms, which served as an entrance-hall-museum, where Jefferson displayed his scientific interests, and a music-sitting room. The most dramatic element of the new design was an octagonal dome, placed above the west front of the building in place of a second-story portico. The room inside the dome was rarely used because it was too hot in summer and cold in winter. The dome room has now been restored to its appearance during Jefferson's lifetime.
Before his death, Monticello had began to show signs of decay, due in part to his accumulating debts. In the last few years of Jefferson's life, much went without repair in Monticello.
After Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, his only surviving daughter Martha Jefferson Randolph inherited Monticello. The estate was encumbered with debt and Martha Randolph had financial problems of her own because of her husband's mental illness. In 1831 she sold Monticello to James Turner Barclay, a local apothecary. Barclay sold it in 1834 to Uriah P. Levy, the first Jewish Commodore in the United States Navy. Levy greatly admired Jefferson and he used his private funds to repair, restore and preserve the house. During the American Civil War, the house was seized and sold by the Confederate government because it was owned by Levy who was a Northern officer. Uriah Levy's estate recovered the property after the war. In 1879, Uriah Levy's nephew, Jefferson Monroe Levy, a prominent New York lawyer and later member of Congress, took control of the property. He commissioned repairs. In 1923, a private non-profit organization, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, purchased the house from Jefferson Levy and performed additional restoration.
The Foundation operates Monticello and its grounds as a house museum and educational institution. Visitors can view rooms in the cellar and ground floor, but the second and third floors are not open to the public due to fire code restrictions. Visitors can tour the third floor (Dome), while on a Signature Tour.
The original main entrance is through the portico on the east front. The entrance hall contains recreations of items collected by Lewis and Clark on the cross-country expedition commissioned by Jefferson to explore the Louisiana Purchase. Jefferson had the floorcloth painted a "true grass green" upon the recommendation of artist Gilbert Stuart.
The south wing includes Jefferson's private suite of rooms. The library holds many books from his third library collection. His first library was burned in an accidental plantation fire, and he sold his second library in 1815 to the United States Congress to replace the books lost when the British burned the Capitol in 1814.
By the time of Jefferson's death, some slave families had labored and lived for four generations at Monticello. Six families and their descendants are featured in the exhibit, Slavery at Jefferson's Monticello: Paradox of Liberty. In February 2012, Monticello opened a new outdoor exhibit on its grounds: Landscape of Slavery: Mulberry Row at Monticello, to describe the lives of the hundreds of slaves who lived and worked at the plantation. In the fall of 2001, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation held a commemoration of the burial ground, in which the names of known slaves of Monticello were read aloud.
Here is more information about Monticello:
Website: http://www.monticello.org/
Location: 931 Thomas Jefferson Parkway, Charlottesville, Virginia
Monticello’s hours of operation change seasonally, so visitors are advised to check the calendar on the website for information on specific dates.
Twitter: @TJMonticello
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TJMonticello